Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

As you know, The Roof at the Hotel Vancouver actually isn't  on a roof . But it does have a bright, classy, elegance that is so appropriate for afternoon tea service. At $49, it's at the higher end of tea services in Vancouver, so food quality and location ambiance will both have to measure up. For the most part it does, but depending on your server, it may fall a bit short. Maybe because it is afternoon tea and I have preconceptions of an elegant, calming time, when someone places a sausage roll upside down on your plate it feels like a travesty. And could they not at least flip it over? Anyway, despite that, afternoon tea at The Hotel Vancouver turned out quite nicely. No missteps with the food. Bread at afternoon tea services can sometimes be cold and dry, but not here. For $49, you get... Creamed Asparagus Tartlet Put the whole thing in your mouth: The green goop filling is soupy and you'll just make a mess otherwise. Chicken & Apple Sausage Roll Rather f...

My friend actually walked out on our dinner because "The Roof" wasn't actually on a roof. It's more like the penthouse suite and it's definitely not open air. And honestly, not much of a view, either. You get to see old office buildings and (at the moment, anyway) half-built skyscrapers that will eventually block off what view of the water remains. Not the view of the water was all that great to begin with. Want a view? Try an actual waterfront restaurant. As for my friend, I guess she was spoiled by the actual rooftop  "Roof" lounge/bar/restaurant atop Black + Blue . Which has even less of any view of anything plus a seating arrangement that isn't particularly geared toward looking outward. The lobby and room are nice, though. It's bright and spacious and high-ceilinged. Even the table spacing is generous. There are different zones for different types of patrons, from sit-down dining to sports bar. Also a needs-tuning piano and jazz musicia...

It's an oyster place, but people talk about the fried chicken -- and with good reason! It's tasty. Chewies Steam & Oyster Bar has a Kitsilano location, but they later took over what used to be Miku in the Guiness Building downtown. We went to that one. There's Happy Hour from 3pm to 6pm, which includes "buck a shuck" oysters. At 3pm, it's pretty dead in there. Servers too. Not many servers, and those who are there are changing shifts. You may end up like our party, served by the bartender and mid-way that person went off shift and someone else took over. We ended up with confused billing, but that was understandable. I'm not saying it's really their fault, but to just watch out for confusion during a shift change, and maybe to be more proactive about catching their attention if you need something. "Cheese Chuts" ($10 for 4) This was on the fresh sheet, so you might not see it all the time. Four golf-ball sized balls of deep fr...

The pies are basically $8 each at the Aussie Pie Guy food truck . Which either sounds okay or expensive depending on what you compare it to. It's pricey compared to a special at A&W, but a few bucks less than a typical burger at a sit-down restaurant. Whatever you do, though, don't open up your pie to peek inside. I did that. Big mistake. Chances are, you will be disappointed. I took the top off a Shane's Pie and there was an off-centre dollop of what looked like BBQ sauce but which was probably the advertised apricot hoisin sauce. So now I'm biased against what looks like lazily put together assembly line pies with not enough of certain ingredients. Same with the Sweetie Pie my friend got. We were like, "where's the custard"? Shane's Pie ($8) A signature pie created by our friend Shane. Tender free range BC beef short rib and vegetables with a red wine au-jus and apricot hoisin sauce over mashed potatoes. As mentioned above, there was appar...

When busy restaurants DON'T have a maître d', you'll know the difference. Many restaurants have a layout where you can't can't take in the whole room from where you've entered the restaurant. In such cases, you really need to have someone at the front or otherwise handling diners. In part it is because some people will loiter there expecting to be seated instead of just blithely helping themselves. Also, if they are looking for someone or if they have reservations, they will know where to go. I had reservations for our dining club last Friday at Ouisi Bistro and not having a hostess at the front was... different. People just sort of drift in toward the reservation time (non-Vancouverites being the ones on time and Vancouverites being either late or no-shows -- but that's another article), and it's awkward wandering around looking for your party, especially in a busy restaurant. And Ouisi Bistro was busy! I was in by around 7:30pm for an 8:00pm reser...

The famous picture has pretty much gone around the world, but depending on which picture you saw, your Checkmate Caesar may not be exactly as shown. The incarnation as of last Friday night was as pictured below: roasted chicken Score burger ( certified Angus Beef, monterey jack, bacon, organic greens, tomato, horseradish aioli and grainy dijon aioli on a brioche bun ) sriracha glazed pulled pork slider ( braised pork marinated in our pineapple sriracha glaze, avocado, slaw and jack cheese ) onion rings chicken wings (covered in Frank's Hot Sauce) a pulled pork mac&cheese hotdog a brownie The components probably add up to about $60, so value for your money is okay. There's food enough for two persons, three if you're all looking for just a light meal. Your drink is "included", so to speak, so dinner comes to about $20 to $30 per person before tax. It's certainly fun to look and order, but overall I'd warn against it for various reasons, ...

As you may know, I subscribe to the free all you need is cheese magazine . In addition to the spread of beautifully illustrated recipes and a bunch of coupons, they also showcased this contest to win a trip to the Canadian National Exhibition 2014: Be the 4th Judge at this year's Grate Canadian Cheese Cook-Off. We challenged chefs to compete against each other by creating their own unique mouth-watering Canadian mac & cheese recipes, and we need a fourth judge to help choose the winner. You could win a fabulous getaway to sit at the Judges' Table with 3 Celebrity Foodies. Apply online for a chance to win!  AllYouNeedIsCheese.ca/Tasterwanted No purchase necessary. From May 26, 2014, to July 5, 2014, at 11:59 p.m. (ET). Open to adults residing in Canada (except Quebec and Territories). The prize consists of a getaway package for two to the Canadian National Exhibition 2014 . Winner must be available from August 26, 2014, to August 28, 2014. See contest rules at www.allyo...